New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Chanpreet Singh, who allegedly “managed” cash funds for AAP’s campaign in 2022 Goa Assembly polls, in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, official sources said Monday.
Singh was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on April 12 and was produced before a special court here the next day, the sources said.
He has been sent to the ED custody till April 18 by the court, they said.
This is the 17th arrest in the case by the ED. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his party colleague and former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha and a number of liquor businessmen and others have been arrested earlier by the federal agency.
Singh was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation too in the same case. The money laundering case stems from the CBI FIR.
The ED has informed the court through its official documents that Chanpreet Singh “managed” cash payments for the campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during the 2022 Goa elections and had a “relationship” with the political outfit that rules Delhi currently.
It has been alleged by the agency that the ‘South Group’-- comprising Kavitha, TDP candidate from Ongole Lok Sabha seat Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy and others -- paid Rs 100 crore bribe to the AAP for obtaining a prime position in the Delhi liquor market as part of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
Out of these alleged kickbacks, the ED has claimed, Rs 45 crore was used by the AAP to fund its Goa election campaign. The ED has claimed that cash payments were made to survey workers, area managers, assembly managers and others in Goa who were engaged in election campaign activities of the AAP and these people told the agency that this was “managed” by a person named Chanpreet Singh.
AAP in its officials statement refuted the claim.
“The entire country knows that the real Delhi liquor scam took place after ED started its investigation and arrested scam kingpin Sharath Reddy who later transferred Rs 55 cr of his proceeds of crime to BJP via electoral bonds,” the statement read.
“After two years of investigation and over 500 raids, not a single rupee or evidence has been recovered from AAP leaders,” it added.